BJP's mammoth rally leaves Delhi, Gadkari exhausted

Gadkari courts arrest, ends up fainting

The sizzling weather in New Delhi was unbearable for the Bharatiya Janata Party top brass during its rally against price rise on Wednesday with party president Nitin Gadkari fainting while moving towards Parliament to court arrest.

Biggest mobilisation of BJP workers

The rally was taken out to showcase the public angst against the steeply rising prices of commodities drew BJP supporters from across the country.

Braving the sizzling weather, thousands of BJP activists joined the public meeting and the march to Parliament, the first big show of strength after Nitin Gadkari took over as party chief in December last year.

There was traffic chaos in central Delhi as vehicles crawled and commuters faced a harrowing time.

In the morning, life was thrown out of gear for office-goers, as huge crowds were approaching the Ramlila Maidan, the venue for the rally.

"The biggest problem is of the route. There are jams everywhere. It's taking two hours to reach my destination instead of the usual 15 minutes," said Nazeer Mohammad, an auto rickshaw driver.

"I started from my house at 9:30 a.m. I have to take my child to the hospital in Lajpat Nagar. I have been struggling in traffic since two and half hours. Now my car is over heated and has broken down. There is not even a single policeman on this route to manage the Traffic," said Sanjay Rana, a commuter.

On Tuesday, BJP had appealed Delhiites to bear with the traffic jams from 10 am to 6 pm on Wednesday.

Image: An estimated 10000 activists took part in the rallyPhotographs: Danish Siddiqui

Anti-Congress or anti-price rally?

The BJP top brass, led by Gadkari and party veteran L K Advani, attacked the government for rising prices of items like rice, sugar, pulses, petrol, diesel and fertiliser.

Interestingly, during the public meeting Advani spoke before Gadkari which many read as an indicator of the change in the hierarchy within the right-wing party. Usually, Advani is the last to speak at a public meeting.

The BJP alleged that food stocks are rotting due to improper management at various godowns owned by the government-owned Food Corporation of India.

The massive demonstration is the biggest mobilisation of BJP workers from across the country under the leadership of newly appointed Gadkari.

Gadkari used the occasion to lash out at the Manmohan Singh regime, saying the "wrong economic policies and bad governance" had resulted in price rise.

"The Congress had given the slogan of garibi hatao but has worked towards increasing prices," Gadkari alleged. He claimed that government figures show an increase of 41 crore in the number of BPL people.

"I have inflation rates of 25 countries where it is less than 2 percent while in India it is 11 percent Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh have betrayed the trust reposed in them by the people," Gadkari said.

He said no one in the Congress has been able to give a convincing answer on the issue of price rise.

An all-Gadkari show

Gadkari, who was chosen by the Sangh fountainhead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to lead a faction-ridden BJP, seems to have managed to take all camps within the party together for this rally which had been made a prestige issue by him.

Senior BJP leaders, including leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, former party presidents Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi and M Venkaiah Naidu, as well as chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of BJP-ruled states attended the public meeting.

Later, the leaders moved towards Parliament for a "gherao" but were arrested.

All the speakers sang praises of Gadkari and said the credit for organising a public meeting on such a huge scale goes to him.

BJP supporters from several states and regions including Kerala, Northeast, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir were mobilised for this meeting.

The BJP has criticised the government on the issue of price rise in Parliament and outside it.

The party plans to bring cut motions in Lok Sabha during the ongoing budget session on increase in prices of petrol, diesel and fertiliser.